Literatura, história e gênero : representações de Dona Beja no romance histórico A vida em flor de Dona Bêja

Abstract

This research sought to analyze, from the concept of gender, the literary representations created by Agripa Vasconcelos in his historical novel A vida em flor de Dona Bêja (1957). For the analysis of the novel, methodological assumptions of bibliographic research were used, where theoretical subsidies were sought in the works of Roger Chartier, Sandra Pesavento, Joan Scott, Teresa de Lauretis, Antonio Candido, Constância Lima Duarte, among others. Dona Beja is a historical character who lived in Minas Gerais in the 19th century. If, as a historical woman, Dona Beja had a life similar to that of many other women of the 19th century, seeking to earn goods, raise daughters and follow religious traditions, when transported to the literary field in the 20th century by Agripa Vasconcelos, Dona Beja becomes a symbol of beauty, starting to evoke images of the muse, madonna, seductress, femme fatale and especially the luxury courtesan. From the historical elements that make up the plot of the novel by Agripa Vasconcelos, it was possible to perceive the intersection between Literature and History, as well as observing the female condition in the 19th century marked by social inequalities. Writing temporally distant from the narrated moment, the novel by Agripa Vasconcelos is marked by the convergence between different female representations, sometimes that break with a pattern of femininity of the 19th century, due to the values of the writer's present, sometimes that reaffirm conservative images about women.